


Discovered (Find Out The Truth)

by Pretty_Princess_Sheep



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Comic Book Violence, M/M, mentions of past character death, more fun to come
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-30
Updated: 2017-04-30
Packaged: 2018-10-25 19:00:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10770435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pretty_Princess_Sheep/pseuds/Pretty_Princess_Sheep
Summary: Bruce Wayne comes to work only to find purple roses. His worst fears are confirmed when he finds that his secret identity has been compromised by the Joker.





	Discovered (Find Out The Truth)

Bruce’s biggest nightmare was the same reason that he wore the cowl and kept his identity a secret. If someone were to ever figure out who he actually was it would jeopardize his safety as well as Alfred’s, Dick’s, Jason’s, Tim’s, the Gordans, his company and anyone else that had ever been involved with his work over the years. To keep his secret he led two lives and was unable to ever truly be intimate with another person without risking everything. It meant that he had little trust in people and he often ended up pushing away those that he was closet to.

Dick had graduated college many years ago and for a time their relationship was strained due to the clashing roles of partners and family. Things had smoothed out between them, but the time they spent together was minimal. It was most likely for the better at this point as Dick was growing and having his own life that didn’t need to revolve around Gotham anymore.

Jason was all but out of the picture at this point, always feeling in the shadows of the original Robin and not meeting some of the high expectations that Bruce had built for him. It was a learning experience as a parent and Bruce regretted the way that Batman had torn most of the positive ties he ever had with Jason. One horrible thing led to another and the death of Jason. It was a dark time for Batman but led to his the newest addition to his family, Tim.

Tim had known about Batman all his life and followed his crusades and came to him in the time that Bruce needed someone the most. The arrival of Tim had been the first positive thing to happen for Bruce in a while and was what finally brought him through the dark time in his life. There were so many ways that Tim reminded Bruce of Dick, which brought him mixed feelings. Ultimately he was determined to be a better father and influence for the boy. It was all of these reasons and more that Batman and Bruce Wayne had to be two different people

— — —

Coming into work was a chore that Bruce preferred to avoid, but in times it was a necessary evil. To remain the face of his company his face had to be present in the building from time to time. The secretary at the front desk looked overly smug when she saw Bruce coming out of the elevator.

“Good morning Bruce,” she smiled. It was the sort of smile that held promise of secrets that Bruce was not sure he wanted to ask about.

“Good morning Marissa,” he replied politely, and not pressing into whatever she was eagerly hiding.

“It seems that you have someone left you a gift this morning… or shall I say gifts,” she hummed. “I had them taken to your office.” A twisting sensation wrapped around Bruce’s stomach. He hadn’t been seeing anyone seriously in a while and no one sent gifts out of the blue.

“Thank you,” he replied calmly despite the sea of emotions that wriggled underneath his skin. Heading into his office revealed that there were in fact many gifts, flowers to be exact. A dozen large vases of purple roses filled his desk and many had to be placed on the floor due to the sheer amount of floral presents. One with a card sat at the center of his desk with his name printed on the front. Bruce flipped over the card to see if there was any indication of the sender, but it was blank. The handwriting didn’t look familiar, and it was nowhere near Bruce’s birthday leaving the jarring question of who would have sent the overdone ensemble.

The rest of the day consisted of teasing comments from his coworkers about the ‘lucky girl’ and Bruce went along with the gossip. It was easier to play along and take guesses at who the secret admirer might be than argue the matter. Before leaving the office he debated over the fate of the roses, but dreaded the idea of Alfred seeing the flowers. It would be weeks before Bruce would hear the end of it and he decided to leave them be to decorate his office until they needed to be removed.

— — —

“We’re closing in on the Joker’s location, Robin I need you to cover me,” Batman ordered. The two had been following a lead all week on the Joker’s whereabouts and it had taken them to a run down floral shop.

“Got it,” Robin agreed and followed a few paces behind the Dark Knight. The store was dirty and broken glass littered the floor. To the untrained eye it would appear that no one had stepped foot into the building in years, but Bruce knew better. The main building seemed abandoned, but as they made their way back Batman’s instincts were confirmed with the presence of two armed guards. Both were large meat heads with the distinct black and white make up that covered the faces of all Joker’s henchmen.

“Distract them and I’ll go handle Joker,” Batman said and waited for Robin to draw out the attention of the men before heading into the backroom by himself. The room was dark and as Batman switched over to his night vision a large blunt object made contact with his head, sending him to the ground hard.

“Batter up!” Bruce looked up just in time to see Harley swinging a large baseball bat into his head a second time before everything went black.

— — —

“So nice of you to drop by. Have a nice trip? I feel like I haven’t seen you since last Fall,” Joker’s laughter echoed in Bruce’s head as he slowly came to. Batman was tied up to a large beam in the main room of the floral shop and he could make out Robin tied up across the room and still unconscious. His attention was brought back to the pair of clowns, his vision still swirled from the multiple blows to the head.

“Hey B-man. How’s the head?” Harley laughed and stuck her tongue out at the vigilante.

“Now Harley, it’s not polite to tease a guest. Where are your manners,” Joker teased and let out a laugh. “Oh yes Batsy, I was wondering how long it would take for you to find me. What was the tip off? I’ve been here for over a month Bats and not a single phone call from you, I was starting to worry. Not your best work if I’m being honest,” Joker sighed, looking a bit disappointed. “But never the less you’re here and not a moment too late.”

“What are you planning Joker,” Batman growled, tensing against the binding of the rope, but it had been rather well fit to keep him in place.

“Now that would spoil all the fun wouldn’t it? How about the great detective tries to figure it out,” Joker hummed and circled around him, his eyes never leaving the Dark Knight’s figure. Batman looked around the room, trying to better take in what was around them aside from the mess. Upon closer inspection he noticed large tanks of toxic materials and purple roses… Bruce had to look a second time to make sure he wasn’t hallucinating, but sure enough the flowers were still there.

“Sinking in yet Bat brain? I’m sending out lovely gifts to all the most influential people in Gotham. Soon enough I will have control of every bigwig fancy pants and they will be eating from my pocket, HA!” Joker grinned at his marvelous plan. “Of course I’ve only just begun with the delivery, but I made sure to target the very best first. One of our mutual friends I believe,” Joker winked. The knowing stare sent chills down Bruce’s spine.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Batman grunted, but the normal force of his voice wasn’t really there. Joker’s eyes gleamed, instantly catching the change in Batman’s demeanor.

“That’s right Bats. You don’t think you can keep anything from me can you? I know who you have connections to. Who knew that Batman and Bruce Wayne were such great pals. Real buddy boys huh,” he smiled widely but the humor in Joker’s eyes was gone. “Harl, be a doll and check on the goons outside will you, the truck should be here any minute.”

“Be right back!” she called and and Joker waited until she was out of the building before returning his attention to Batman. His eyes still shone dauntingly with rage, but his smile never parted.

“So here we are then, I think we both know the truth don’t we. You and Brucie are quite close wouldn’t you agree? I bet sometimes you feel like you’re the same person,” Joker hissed close enough to Batman’s ear that he could feel the other man’s breath and spittle. Bruce’s heart was racing and his vision was starting to go fuzzy around the edges, it wasn’t possible. There was no way that Joker could have found out his identity.

“I bet you’re thinking ‘how in the hell could he possibly know, blah blah blah.’ Well guess what, it’s because I’m not as stupid as you think. Hell, I’ve had my suspicions for a while now. You never do see Batman and Bruce Wayne in the same place do you?” Joker laughed, it was dry and there was no smile anymore.

“But how?” Batman asked, his voice was practically shaking at this point. Joker sighed and shook his head, looking rather put off at this point.

“Don’t offend me Batman. It doesn’t take a genius detective to start putting the pieces together… But I’ll give you some credit, none of the other kids have found out yet. Nope, just you and me, and I suppose that’s really the reason isn’t it? No one else knows you as well as me,” Joker stopped his pacing and his face looked torn between different emotions. “Who would be stupid enough to invest so much money into mending of all the trash that you took care of? Oh yes the stupid little playboy and all his wealth just has a big heart. I am so fucking touched,” Joker spat and looked angry at this point. His pacing picked up and he looked ready to snap at any point.

“Joker…” Bruce started, but he was cut off by Joker’s icy glare. A wicked grin spread across the clown’s mouth that juxtaposed the horrid look in his eyes.

“Don’t you Joker me, I don’t want to hear it. Bruce Wayne… Bruce Wayne,” Joker was nearly screaming at this point. He clawed manically at his face and dug red lines down his cheeks. “I don’t get it. The punch line. Isn’t. FUNNY!” Joker spat. Bruce didn’t know what to say, he had seen Joker hit lows in the past, but there had never been anything quite like this. “Did you like the gift Bruce? Were you picturing it came from some little number in a tight dress. Oh yes, all those women,” Joker’s glare intensified. “I thought we had something special.”

“Joker,” Batman barked again. He didn’t know why guilt started to rush through him at this moment. Joker was a madman, a killer and there should be nothing special between them. But he also knew that he couldn’t deny the chemistry and history they had with one another. Batman wouldn’t be the person he was without Joker pushing him through everything.

“Shut up. Shut up. Shut up. SHUT UP!” Joker screamed and pressed his hands to his ears. “I don’t want to hear another word from those beautiful lips of yours. One more noise and I will slit the bird’s throat,” Joker said, it was clear that it was a promise. Batman’s gut twisted and he didn’t dare push Joker, especially in his current state. “That’s more like it,” Joker sighed and pressed a finger to his forehead, looking deeply troubled.

“Mister J, everything’s ready for you!” Harley called from outside.

“Just a minute,” he called back and looked between the vats of poison and his Batman. “Our little talk will just have to wait, appointments and such. I’m sure you understand. Don’t think that this is over,” Joker said, giving one last glare before heading out to order his men around to get things ready. The men from earlier brought the flowers to the truck to no doubt be delivered across Gotham. Joker turned back to Batman one last time, his smile was back in place, but Bruce could recognize a mask when he saw one. He had certainly put on Bruce’s mask enough times to spot another doing the same.

“I hope you enjoyed the flowers,” Joker said and turned to leave him trapped in the floral shop. The truck pulled away and he was left with the knowledge that Joker knew his true identity. There were a million thoughts rushing through his head, but they were broken by the stirring of Robin.

“Batman… What happened?” Robin groaned and struggled against his ropes.

“No time to talk, can you get free?” he asked. Robin wiggled more and proved that the binding done to him was much less secure. With Robin free, he cut Batman free and the two rushed after Joker. Batman kept the conversation with Joker private for the moment. There was a lot for the two of them to discuss moving forward. How would it impact Batman and the Joker. How would it impact Bruce Wayne and his family. Time would only tell.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm still working through what I want to happen in this story, but I plan to continue in the near future


End file.
